As revealed at yesterday night's Volkswagen Das Event, the Volkswagen Golf GTE has been confirmed for Malaysia in 2015. Unveiled at Geneva 2014, the GTE is VW's plug-in hybrid hot hatch sister to the petrol GTI and diesel GTD, and it boasts impressive vital stats.
The Golf GTE is powered by a turbocharged, direct-injected 1.4 TSI engine offering 148 hp, paired with a 101 hp electric motor. Total combined output is 201 hp and 350 Nm, and power is channeled to the front wheels through a six-speed DSG designed specifically for hybrid applications.
It can do the 0-100 km/h sprint in 7.6 seconds and top out at 222 km/h. Not bad numbers, considering that the GTE weighs 1,520 kg, nearly 170 kg more than the petrol GTI (6.5 sec, 244 km/h).
But the impressive thing about the GTE is that it can operate in pure electric mode at up to 130 km/h, and can travel 50 km on a single charge. The 8.8 kWh lithium-ion battery takes about three and a half hours to charge from a domestic socket, or about an hour less through a wall-mounted charging station.
Of note is the fuel consumption and operating range of the GTE – based on the European NEDC test cycle, it uses a claimed 1.5 litres per 100 km (67 km/l), good enough for a 939 km running range. Expect less in real world conditions, of course, but the GTE should still be an amazing combo of performance and efficiency.
Visually, the GTE gets the usual GTI cues, but with blue replacing red as theme, unique wheels and C-shaped LED DRLs on the lower bumper to set it apart. It's the same story inside the five-door cabin, which has plenty of blue stitching and a Boost/Charge meter in place of the rev meter, which has been shrunken to sit within the former. Very interesting, and we're really looking forward to this one coming.
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